


Less than Graceful

by Cat10013



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angelic Possession, Bodyswap, Destiel - Freeform, M/M, Possession, Sabriel - Freeform, Sharing a Body, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-13
Updated: 2014-11-21
Packaged: 2018-02-25 05:52:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2610803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cat10013/pseuds/Cat10013
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone is picking off angels, one by one. Cas thinks he can handle it on his own but this is too much, even for the angel who helped stop the apocalypse. He and Gabriel manage to escape but not before they're poisoned. Running out of options and time, they turn to the Winchesters and ask the unthinkable.</p><p>Because free will or no, destiny has a funny way of making sure certain things happen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It couldn’t be later than two or three in the afternoon, though there wasn’t much in the way of sunlight in this godforsaken prison – and save for the ring of holy fire around the chair he was bound to, there wasn’t really any light. At least, it was serving as a prison now. Whatever its original purpose was didn’t matter. Right now it was perhaps the most elaborate angelic booby trap ever conceived.

Castiel had heard the talk over angel radio: angels would hear a prayer, anything from a cry for help to a promise of his head on a plate, and would disappear without a trace. There had been at least ten victims that anyone knew about, and when members of his old Garrison asked him to look into it he agreed.

He thought he’d been sufficiently prepared.

He was sorely mistaken.

The deep laughter almost seemed forced, but it was still loud enough to ring through the building. His captor was dressed up entirely in black, even going so far as to wear a mask, and for some reason they were interested in interrogating him. He couldn’t sense any kind of supernatural energy on them, and he wasn’t sure if that was comforting or disturbing. Could an ordinary human really do so much damage to so many of his brothers and sisters?

“Hey jackass, you’re not that funny.”

Cas stayed quiet, still staring down his assailant while they turned briefly to the source of the remark: Gabriel. He’d been surprised to find the archangel here, let alone trapped in a pair of ‘angel handcuffs.’ He was currently stuck to a pipe that ran up the wall of the building, but that didn’t stop him from being a smartass.

“Aww, don’t worry, if this one keeps giving me the silent treatment, you won’t have to wait your turn for much longer.”

“Oh _nooooooo_! Why, I’m about to piss my pants!”

The mystery murderer turned back towards Cas, angel blade still in hand.

“Would you mind holding this for me?”

Before Cas could wonder what they meant, he felt the blade run right through his left shoulder. He screamed, the blade continuing to sting for as long as it was jammed into his body. He managed to compose himself, but not before he heard another laugh from his captor.

“You know, you’re pretty cocky for a dead angel.”

“Oh please, tell me something I _haven’t_ heard before.”

They moved toward Gabriel, but the archangel managed to keep a grin on his face.

“Alright, well, did you know I could kill you right now without breaking a sweat?”

They pulled out a flask from their back pocket and lifted the bottom of their mask slightly to take a swig. Gabe just chuckled.

“Well, call me crazy, but I don’t think that’ll happen without that there angel blade.”

He gestured to Cas, whose face was still twisting in pain, and let his cocky demeanor slip for just a second. When they got out of this, he swore that he was gonna stab this S.O.B. himself.

“Oh?” They flicked a spot on their forearm and another blade fell through their sleeve into their palm. “You know, you all have a bad habit of underestimating anyone without a halo and daddy issues.”

“Yeah?” Gabe looked from the blade to the mask and grabbed at the cuffs holding him in place. His free hand ran across the cool metal, though he was admittedly kind of terrified. An arm pushed at his shoulders, pinning him against the wall, while the blade was raised directly in front of his face. A prolonged sigh came from his captor as the blade glided along his jaw and neck, leaving scratches in a few spots that managed to sting and draw some blood. He was still fumbling with the cuffs, less focused on hiding his panic.

“Aww, what’s the matter? All that talk and nothing to back it up?” The blade was lowered and before he knew it they took a step back and sliced his stomach. He screamed and fell to his knees. His shirt had been sliced open and underneath it was a sizeable gash on his chest. Luckily it wasn't deep enough to reach his grace, but it still hurt like a bitch. His free hand was balled up into a fist but he ran his knuckles over the wound to confirm that it was healing.

"I thought Cas over there was supposed to be Heaven's biggest bad. But what about you? You just showed up here and I never even got a name."

The archangel grinned at the figure looming over him. He brought up the hand that was still balled up, his knuckles starting to grow pale. He began to uncurl his fingers, starting with the middle one, to reveal a strip of metal that looked like it belonged on the pipe. Its edge looked like it had been filed down, as if metal had been grinding against metal. The figure tightened their grip on the angel blade, as if it was the only thing keeping them alive, and the angel just grinned.

"The name's Gabriel. You might've heard of me."

In an instant the archangel was gone from his spot on the floor. Sprinklers suddenly started to rain down on everyone in the room. The masked figure began to turn around but noticed that they now had iron cuffs around their ankles, chaining them to the wall with barely enough slack to take a single step away.

Castiel grunted, going so far as to bite his cheek in the hopes that he could stay quiet. If putting the blade in his shoulder was painful, pulling it back out was excruciating. He was glad that Gabriel had been clever enough to escape, and thankful that he was helping him out as well. Cas stood up, finally getting to stretch both his legs and his wings. His shoulder still stung, but so long as he didn't move it too much he should be alright. He noticed that the cuffs were still on Gabriel's wrist despite the binding sigils being scratched out. He moved to ask about it but was quickly interrupted.

"You know you can't escape now. Even if you get out, first thing I did was pull out some grace. I can and WILL track you wherever you run, so you'd better enjoy the head start you winged-"

" _Aaaand_ that's enough for me."

With an unnecessary snap of his fingers, Gabe shut the mouth of their masked nuisance. The silver duct tape wasn't visible, but the archangel made sure that it was on tight.

"Hope you don't mind if I keep the cuffs. I haven't been able to get freaky in a while."

"Gabriel." Cas didn't completely understand this line of logic and it honestly wasn't the best time to try and explore it. "We should go."

"Aww, but we could have so much fun little bro!"

"I can feel sigils running through the building. If we don't leave now-"

Cas didn't get to finish that sentence before his wound flared up again, this time burning twice as much as it had when the blade had been jammed into it. And he could feel something warm and sticky running down the rest of his arm. Blood.

"Right. That's not great." Gabe couldn't exactly sense the sigils while he was cuffed - they left his ability to sense angel-y things kind of fuzzy, and even now it wasn't entirely clear - but given what was happening to his brother, he wasn't about to stick around for act two. He swung Cas's arm over his shoulder and wrapped him in one of his wings. There wasn't much time to think, but he knew one place that they'd be safe and sigil-free... well, mostly.

"Hang on tight, Cas. This ride's gonna be bumpy."

And they were gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're reading this, then thank you for caring about this fic. If you've got any comments or recommendations, please feel free to comment whenever!
> 
> I've got big plans for this thing, and I hope you enjoy what I plan on doing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since the reaction to this has been so good, and since I'm trying to write ahead, I figured I'd drop the second chapter on you guys today. It seems huge, but that's because there are so many perspective changes - not sure if that's even the best word for it, but you'll see what I mean.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it, because in my opinion this is where things start getting good.

The day had been pretty quiet so far. No mysterious deaths in some small town, no weird disappearances, and no real hunts that either of the boys could find. So they decided to take the rare opportunity and turn it into a day off. And man, was it nice.

"Sammy! Can you grab me a beer while you're up?"

Dean was stretched out on the couch, his headphones on and his brother's laptop in hand. He was in the middle of his favorite Dr Sexy MD episode, and there wasn't going to be any pausing on his account. He grabbed a chip from the bag beside him and chewed as slowly as he could, not wanting to miss a word.

Sam didn't say anything. He found his caesar salad and dressing shoved behind a six pack and a half-eaten slice of blueberry pie. He quickly pulled out two bottles along with his lunch before closing the fridge and walking back out. He dropped one of the beers right by Dean's chips and began to laugh quietly at his brother.

A flutter of wings could be heard in the room, and Castiel and Gabriel were suddenly standing in front of them, both looking worse for wear. The boys both put their stuff down and moved toward them.

"Howdy, boys." Gabe's breathing was heavy. Clearly he'd exhausted himself, which only meant trouble considering how much power the archangel douche had. Cas groaned and the Winchesters quickly brought chairs so they could sit down.

"The hell? What happened to you two?"

"Short version? We got in a jam and I got us out."

Dean blinked and turned his gaze to Cas, who almost seemed like he was gonna black out. The last time he'd looked this bad they'd had the devil on their asses.

"And how exactly did you get into that jam?" Sam spoke up, eyeing the archangel while Dean worried about Cas. "I thought you were flying under the radar nowadays."

"Angels are being killed." Cas's voice came out hoarse, and it was clear that he was worse for wear right now. Dean put a hand on his good shoulder and urged him not to speak. Gabe sighed and quickly elaborated.

"Someone's got a grudge, and they're taking it out on every sucker who's willing to answer a prayer."

"Yeah, well, the God squad doesn't exactly have the biggest fan club. You got anything else for us to go on?"

"Dean," Cas started, but when the hunter tried to shush him he kept going. "I don't want you to get involved in this."

"The hell, Cas?"

"Hate to say this bro, but they're already in it."

Sam and Dean both looked to him, both confused and upset.

"Those sigils back there were old as hell, but that dickwad's gonna find us no matter where we go. Unless..."

"No." Cas kept it short, which was good considering that he was about to pass out.

"Unless what?" Sam urged him to keep on with that train of thought, despite the bad feeling he had about where it was headed.

"Unless we get ourselves new vessels, lay low for a while until we can figure out how to take that sicko down."

"Okay, so, what's the problem? Someone's gotta want some divine intervention, right?"

"It ain't that simple, Deano. Neither of us are in any shape to go property hunting, and in the time it'd take us to find some poor sap, we'd probably already be dead." He winced and brought a hand up to the scratches on his face and neck. They'd started bleeding again.

"What do you mean dead!? You should be healing!"

"The angel blade... must've been cursed."

"There was some old magic back there. Some necromancers way back when figured out how to kill angels nice and slow, but I thought that magic got lost centuries ago. Guess I was wrong."

Both the boys looked at the angels, bleeding from their wounds instead of healing, and then back to each other. And suddenly, they seemed to understand what Gabe had meant. And why Cas had been so against it.

" **No** ," Dean started, practically shouting. "No! No freakin' way!"

"Dean," Sam tried to calm him down.

"Dude, I am _not_ saying yes!"

Sam moved his brother into the kitchen for some privacy. "Well unless you wanna let them _die_ , we don't have much of a choice here, Dean."

"Sammy, we spent two years saying no to angel possession, and now you wanna let freaking _Gabe_ make you his bitch?"

"Hey, it's only temporary. Besides, someone killing off angels is our kind of problem."

"Like hell it's our kind of problem! Most of those dicks had it coming."

"And what about Cas, huh?" At that, Dean froze. "After all the crap we've been through, are you really willing to let him die like this?" He thought about it and sighed.

"I still don't like it."

"Well I might be able to fix that." Gabe sounded a little annoyed, but they turned to look at him. "I take it you two are in then?"

They didn't say a word, but when Dean looked at Cas again, he knew Sam was right. The guy had pulled him out of hell, and he might as well go right back in the pit if he didn't do what he could to help.

***

"Just do it already."

"Alright, alright. Just close your eyes."

Dean obliged. He really wasn't looking forward to having another ancient sigil carved into his bones - especially into the back of his goddamn skull - but this was the only way he'd be able to talk to Sam while they were, well, _occupied_ and he wasn't gonna just sit in some stupid hallucination by himself while Cas and Gabe were trying to laying low.

He felt a hand on his forehead and something slowly started to burn under his skull. He groaned; it wasn't the worst he'd ever felt, but it definitely wasn't pleasant. The hand fell back down and the pain faded. He opened his eyes again and looked at Sam, who seemed to be fine.

"Alright, well, you're all set."

Sam looked to Gabriel and then back to Dean. They were going to do this in their rooms, mostly for the sake of their dignity, and the angels were going to leave their vessels in the bunker. After all, there wasn't any place safer for them. Once it was all over, they'd come back and everyone could try their best to forget that this ever happened.

The older Winchester got up and moved to his room across the hall, closing the door behind him and leaving them alone.

"And you _swear_ this'll work?"

"Aww, come on Samsquatch? You really don't trust me?"

Sam didn't grace that question with an answer. Instead, he moved to sit at the foot of the bed. Gabriel sighed and began to make himself comfortable.

"Look, I promise we'll lay low. Even if Cas isn't the most social little butterfly."

Sam couldn't help but chuckle. If there was one thing the trickster could do, it was lighten the mood.

"So, Sam. Do I have your consent?"

The hunter fell on his back and took a deep breath.

He closed his eyes.

"Yes."

***

"Dean."

Cas sounded terrible. But he looked even worse. His coat and jacket hung on a chair in the corner of the room, and the first few buttons of his bloodied shirt were left undone. They'd bandaged up his shoulder, but that didn't exactly stop the bleeding - and Sam and Dean had had to carry him into the bed. So long as he was in that body, he was gonna be hurting.

"Hey, easy." Dean closed the door behind him and sat by his side, urging him not to push it when he was still so weak.

"You shouldn't... have to do this."

"Well, I'm not just gonna let you die. 'Sides, I'd rather have you in my head than freakin' Gabriel."

Cas smiled at that, if only briefly, and Dean was glad he could lighten the mood a bit.

"Thank you, Dean."

"No problem, Cas."

He sighed and shifted a bit where he sat. This was gonna be awkward no matter how they did it, but somehow it didn't feel as intrusive as he thought it should've. Dean didn't know if that was supposed to be comforting or unsettling.

"Alright, well, stalling isn't gonna make this easier. Whatever permission you need Cas, you've got it."

He really hadn't known what to expect - he was the only human in the bunker who'd never been possessed before now, and most days he'd be thankful for that; now though? It just made things even more tense - but he really hadn't thought he'd be so floored. It was one thing to see Cas in his vessel, but seeing him as this trail of white light felt kinda calming. It almost made him seem... _pure_?

Before he could find a better word to describe it he felt a warmth spread through his body, right down to his very being. Cas was more gentle than he'd expected. He thought it'd feel more like an invasion than this, and it reminded him of something he hadn't felt in a long time.

Somehow, some way, he felt safe.

~~~~~~~~~~

He blinked a few times, taking a moment to get his bearings. It was odd to say the least, moving limbs and appendages that didn't belong to him - granted, Jimmy Novak's hadn't belonged to him either, but he'd been alone and called that body his own for years now, and at least that felt familiar.

On the bright side, the pain from before had already faded into an unpleasant memory. On the down side, it was one of many that unfortunately came with this body.

But this was more than just a vessel. This was Dean. And Cas refused to see him as anything less than his friend.

He stood and turned to his former body on the bed. The bleeding already seemed to have stopped, and he pressed two fingers to the unoccupied forehead, sealing up any wounds that might linger when he tried to return.

As Sam might say, "Better safe than sorry."

Or, to use Dean's more... _direct_ alternative: "Better careful than dead."

" _Oh brother dearest_!"

Cas turned his - Dean's - head toward the hall and squinted. That voice with that tone could only mean that his brother was feeling better as well. He stepped forward to open the door, remembering what Dean had told him about not "zapping yourself someplace it'll take ten damn seconds to walk to."

"Howdy little bro! Big bro? Eh, we can figure it out later." Sam - Gabriel - stepped inside, sporting a grin wider than Cas had ever seen on Sam's face, and laughed as he ruffled his hair.

"It's nice to finally be taller than you for a change."

"Gabriel." Hearing his tone in Dean's voice nearly sent shivers up his spine. It was odd to feel this distressed about such a small thing, but he supposed that might also be Dean trying to take everything in. "We have more important things to deal with, don't you think?"

"Aww, lighten up shorty!" He chuckled and ran a hand through Sam's hair. "If I wanted someone to ruin the fun I'd let Sammy take the wheel."

Yes, this was all definitely going to take some getting used to.

~~~~~~~~~~

**_"Carry on my wayward son. There'll be peace when you are done."_ **

He began to stir in the driver's seat. He could hear the rain hitting the windshield but tried to go back to sleep.

Yeah, some sleep would be great right about now.

**_"Lay your weary head to rest. Don't you cry no more!"_ **

The guitar solo blared, making him jolt upright. He never turned it up that loud, even when he was alone. And when did he start Baby if he'd been asleep?

Just like that, the music turned down on its own, and he knew something was up.

"Sam?" He stretched out as much as he could while he was in the front, waiting for his brother to complain about picking Kansas. But he got nothing. "Sammy!"

The silence was creepy. He looked out the windows to try and get his bearings, but things were dark and foggy, and-

Wait. _Fog?_ Hadn't it just been raining a minute ago?

"Okay, this is just weird."

_"You're telling me."_

"Sam?" He heard his brother's response clear as day. But where was he? "Where are you, man?"

_"Check your phone, Dean."_

He dug through his pockets until he found the phone, but it wasn't the one he'd been using for hunts lately. It was a flip phone, and it looked an awful lot like one he'd tossed a few years ago, but he chose to ignore that for now and opened it up. No lights turned on, but he still heard his brother huffing on the other end.

"Sam, what the hell?"

_"Where are you?"_

"I'm in Baby. Why? Where are _you_?"

_"I'm at the bunker. Can you get over here?"_

Before Sam even finished that sentence, Dean had his foot on the gas. In what seemed like no time at all, he was at the bunker's entrance. He had to cover his eyes from the harsh sun, but-

 _Sun?_ Okay, what the hell? He'd just been in the middle of something out of a crap horror movie.

"You wanna tell me what's going on, Sammy?"

_"What's going on? Are you- wait, don't tell me you don't remember."_

Remember? Remember what? They'd been looking for a hunt for weeks, and they couldn't find anything. He must've gone for a drive to clear his head. But that didn't explain the freak weather.

_"Holy shit."_

And what was that? Sam didn't curse outside of hunts unless things got really bad. Almost too quickly he was through the door and down the steps. Before he did anything else, he looked for his brother.

"Man, I'm here. Where are you?"

 _"My room."_ He answered way too quickly, like he was too shocked to think before speaking. Something was up, and Dean was running before he could say another word.

The door was cracked open when he reached it, and it didn't take him any time to push it back. "Sam! You alright?"

His brother was standing over the bed, his eyes fixed on something. Dean moved over to him and couldn't help but let his jaw drop at what he saw.

"Holy shit."

Gabriel was out like a light, but that wasn't the weird part. Because Sam was on the bed beside him, knocked out, holding his hand and _glowing._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, guys. The end of the semester is fast approaching and the workload is piling up. Thanksgiving break is gonna be a real treat, and I swear that no matter what happens I'll have at least one upload a week.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

"You think we should fill 'em in then?  
  
"Yes. I can already feel Dean starting to become uneasy."  
  
"Yeah, Sam too. I mean, this whole thing is new, even for me. And that damn sigil was experimental at best."  
  
"What?" Cas stepped forward at that. Sam's frame still towered over him, but less than usual now. And either way, he was too angry to care about height. "You didn't tell them that, Gabriel!"  
  
Gabe put his hands up in mock surrender. "Hey, I had to! If I'd wasted time experimenting with those hardasses, you'd probably be dead."  
  
"That doesn't excuse it, brother." Cas grabbed him by the collar, his face twisting into Dean's usual angered expression with ease. "If anything happens to them, I swear-"  
  
Gabe knocked Cas's hands away with ease, grabbing his brother's wrists and staring straight into Dean's emerald eyes, which were currently threatening to glow with some of Cas's grace. "If anything happens to 'em, _I'll_ take care of it. Now before you start threatening to kill me, why don't we see just how they're doing?"  
  
Cas pulled away from Gabriel's grip and huffed. He didn't want to admit it, but he had a point. It was best to see their condition before starting to make threats.  
  
He felt his stomach drop, as if he'd just been terrified, and he feared that something was happening to Dean.  
  
Gabriel must've felt it too, because he conjured two small vials full of a questionable liquid. Before Castiel could ask what was in it, one of them was handed to him.  
  
"These'll knock us right out. I've been out of the game for a while, but it's easier to talk to a soul if you do it in a dream, right?"  
  
Cas nodded and took no time in chugging the strange drink. Even though he couldn't really taste things anymore the texture was offputting, but it did its work quickly. In a few seconds he was already feeling the urge to fall into sleep. He wasn't sure if he'd ever get used to the feeling.  
  
"Gabriel?"  
  
The archangel finished swallowing his drink and shuddered. "Eugh. Yeah, Cas?"  
  
"Are you sure this will work?"  
  
He knew that question had a double meaning and took a moment to think it over, just looking at his hands as he curled and uncurled Sam's fingers. "You know I'm not into all that blind faith crap." He closed his eyes. "But Sammy here's literally been through Hell, and if he can still believe, then-"  
  
Gabe turned to look back at Cas, and saw him sprawled out on the foot of the bed. If he wasn't already feeling so damn drowsy, he'd swear that he saw him smiling.  
  
"Heh. Sweet dreams, brother."  
  
He zapped himself back to Sam's room before passing out himself. And for the first time in millennia, it felt like Loki could forget that he was adopted.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Dean..."  
  
He'd pulled his gun out from its holster, never mind that it hadn't been on when he ran inside earlier. "I dunno what trickster crap you're pulling, but you're gonna fix my brother. Now!"  
  
"Jesus, Dean! It's me! You really don't remember saying yes?"  
  
Saying yes? What kind of crap was Gabe trying to pull on him now? Michael was in the cage with Lucifer. Who would he ever have to say yes to now?  
  
Sam looked down the barrel of his brother's pistol before remembering something that he'd, unfortunately, learned from Crowley. He quickly reached for his own holster, which had thankfully appeared when he needed it, and shots fired from both their guns.  
  
Two bullets, both lodged in their chests, but no one was dead. Dean looked down, even touched the spot where the entry wound should be, but nothing.  
  
"See, Dean? This isn't real. We're _possessed_ , remember?"  
  
The rational part of him didn't want to believe it - after all, he wouldn't say yes to any of Heaven's biggest dicks, would he? - but something in his gut told him that Sam was right. But then why was his memory so patchy?  
  
He looked back to Sam's form on the bed. And then it clicked. He'd said "we."  
  
"Wait, so you're saying I'm all Sleeping Beauty in here too?"  
  
Sam shrugged, just glad that his brother wasn't trying to shoot him anymore.  
  
"Maybe. Why don't you go check?"  
  
Dean nearly ran for the door, still totally confused about this whole situation. Sam would've followed him, to make sure that he didn't totally lose his mind, but he couldn't stop staring at the figures on the bed. He'd had an out of body experience before, back when all the apocalypse crap was still fairly fresh, but this was a whole new level of weird.  
  
"You're tellin' me, Bigfoot."  
  
Sam nearly turned fast enough to give himself whiplash.  
  
If what was in the bed was bizarre, then what was standing in front of him was nightmarish.  
  
***  
  
The fast-walk to his room seemed to take an eternity. He just couldn't process everything that was happening, and whether that was from the short-term amnesia or just the shock of it all, he didn't know.  
  
When Dean finally did reach his room, he noticed that the door had been shut entirely.  
  
 _"Okay,"_ he thought to himself. _"Not exactly a great sign in a possession dream."  
_  
He grabbed the doorknob and turned it slowly, as if that could delay the inevitable. He pushed it open and took a moment to take it all in.  
  
There was someone standing in front of the bed, but just beyond them he could make out two figures sprawled over the sheets. And one of them was giving off a glow.  
  
"Hello Dean."  
  
The voice was eerily familiar, and part of him wished that they wouldn't turn around. But of course, he wasn't that lucky, and he was met with something straight out of a fever dream.  
  
He was looking right back at himself. Well, it was him with glowing eyes, but still. It wasn't exactly a comfort to be staring yourself down.  
  
"You look troubled." His graced-up doppelgänger tilted his head and squinted his eyes in a way that he'd only seen from one other person. And suddenly he felt like an idiot.  
  
"Cas? Is that you?" He looked to Cas's body - well technically it wasn't his, but it was what he'd been walking around in for as long as they'd known him, so he let that slide - and tried so hard not to look at the glowing figure beside him.  
  
"Do you not recognize me, Dean?"  
  
At that, he chuckled. This was Cas alright. Honestly, he was so oblivious sometimes. "Yeah, well, it's kind of weird to be talking to you while you're, uh, me."  
  
The angel seemed amused at that remark and couldn't help but smile. "I'm sorry. I didn't have much time to choose how I manifested in your mind." He moved around to his former vessel and pressed two fingers to his forehead. The soft glow that was on Dean's sleeping form spread through Cas's former body and to his current one. It got bright enough for Dean to justify closing his eyes, and when he opened them again Cas was in his familiar form. He sighed in relief at that.  
  
"Something else is bothering you." The angel moved toward him. It wasn't a question.  
  
"I just..." Dean was at a loss for words. He just couldn't seem to find anything that fit. And the worst part was that it felt familiar. It all just pissed him off.  
  
As if on cue, Cas put a hand on his shoulder. He felt a wave of calm wash over him, and he didn't know how to feel about that. Physically, it felt pretty damn good, and he kind of wished it wouldn't stop, but he still wanted to feel the usual crap: rage, confusion, guilt. It was familiar, and even if it wasn't as nice as what Cas was giving off, it was what he was used to. It was what he deserved.  
  
"You're pushing me away."  
  
He looked into Cas's eyes; the angel's deep blue irises were met with sparks like lightning around the edge. It was incredible, and for a moment Dean forgot everything. All that mattered was the storm in those eyes.  
  
"Dean, there's a reason why angels need consent to take a vessel."  
  
"Tell me." He could barely form a sentence. It was like someone had just drugged him, and he honestly didn't want it to end. This high was the best feeling he'd had in a long time.  
  
"I can show you, but you need to let me in. You need to have faith."  
  
At any other moment, Dean would get pissed and shout. He'd just rant about how faith wasn't exactly easy for him, or how there weren't many things, many people in his life that deserved that kind of trust.  
  
But right now, in this moment, all he could feel was bliss, and he just nodded in reply. Because there may not have been much, but Cas was one of the only things that had earned his blind faith.  
  
Suddenly, the calm was multiplied, and Dean reached all new levels of bliss. He closed his eyes as a warmth enveloped him, covered him right down to his core, and he could've sworn that he'd felt something like this before.  
  
The door behind them slammed shut on its own, and he could feel familiarity rush through the holes in his memory. But it was more than that.   
  
"Dean, look at me."  
  
He could feel something pull at his very being, urging him to obey. And he did just that. But he wasn't just seeing Cas's vessel. The lightning had escaped his eyes, sparking and charging the air around the angel. It was incredible. He finally managed to find his words again.  
  
"Cas, is... is this you? Like, is this _really_ you?"  
  
He shook his head, a small smile working its way across his features. It was rare to see Dean like this: so blown away, and by him no less. But it wasn't just him.  
  
"No, it isn't. Not entirely, at least." He slid his hand down from Dean's shoulder to his bicep, where his mark had once raised the skin. Time had healed the physical scar, but nothing could taint the mark on his spirit.  
  
They could both feel the spark surge between them, seeming to run through Cas into Dean and right back out again. And somehow, Dean understood. Without even speaking, he just knew what this meant.  
  
"You're tapping into my soul."  
  
"Now that you're more accepting of me, yes."  
  
Dean felt doubt start to seep back into him. He had so many questions, but one forced its way into the front of his mind.  
  
"Do you do this with everyone? Every vessel, I mean."  
  
Cas let his hand fall, but the current flowing through them didn't let up. Dean swore that he could feel himself tense up. But he wasn't the one who was tense in the first place.  
  
"To some degree, I suppose. But this is much different. We do share a more profound bond, after all."  
  
Dean chuckled, and Cas matched his smile. Of course it boiled down to that. When he'd first heard those words from the angel's mouth, he'd refused to give them any real weight. He'd chalked the phrasing up to Cas's "rusty people skills" and almost forgotten about it altogether. But now? Now, after all they'd been through together, he could really appreciate the gravity of that statement.  
  
How much more profound could a bond get than this? Just two souls, two spirits, feeding into one another. Even without dwelling on it for too long, Dean just knew it was the strongest bond any two beings could form. And for the first time, well, _ever_ really, his soul felt whole.  
  
***  
  
"Okay, I believe you." Sam had sat through the speech, unnerving as it was listen to himself give it. "But why exactly do you have to look like me?"  
  
"Aww, come on Sammy! Do you even know what it's like to be short? Let me have a little fun."  
  
"Dude, you're already wearing me! That's just beyond creepy."  
  
Gabe sighed, his eyes already starting to glow brighter than they had during their conversation. "Alright killjoy, have it your way." He snapped his fingers and disappeared from where he'd stood.  
  
Sam got up and looked around. He couldn't see the angel, but he knew he was still there. He could still feel him.  
  
"Oh relax. I can't leave the room."  
  
He turned again and saw Gabe, back in his familiar body, eating a Hershey's bar. Somehow, that was the most normal thing he'd seen in a while.  
  
"Wait, what do you mean?"  
  
He grinned at the taste of the chocolate and tossed the half-eaten bar to Sam.  
  
"Well thanks to the sigil, you and Dean are sharing soulspace. You two can run around and chat it up no problem, and you both picked a place that was familiar, hence Mysoginist Manor. But I'm only tied to you, and Cas is only tied to your brother."  
  
"So," Sam started, trying to process everything. "You can't talk to Dean and Cas can't talk to me. And, what, our rooms are like our heads?"  
  
"Bingo! Ten points to Ravenclaw." Gabe materialized a wand in his hand and waved it, sending sparks flying around them. Sam sent a glare his way and he sighed before making it all disappear. "While the door's locked, we can chat it up all we want."  
  
Sam had an idea and started to grin. He took a few steps toward the door, but before he could get very far Gabe grabbed his wrist.  
  
"Don't. We still have to talk."  
  
Sam didn't know what he was feeling, but he knew Gabe changing his tone like that meant something was up. He should be concerned, but for some reason he wasn't.  
  
He also felt compelled to listen to him, and he knew that should raise some red flags, but it didn't.  
  
"Sit down."  
  
Sam did just that, and felt a weird kind of longing when Gabe let go of him.  
  
"Now, you might not like this, but you gotta promise to hear me out. Can you do that?"  
  
Sam just nodded, unable to find any words of his own. Gabe sighed and pulled his grace away. So long as he was that close to Sam's soul, he knew the kid was gonna act like some mindless groupie. "Sam, can you hear me out before you start shouting?"  
  
The hunter cleared his throat, trying to shake off the aftereffects of his angel high, and nodded a bit more forcefully. "Yeah, I guess."  
  
"Good, 'cause I'm gonna hold you to that."  
  
***  
  
"Wait, what!?"  
  
"Dean, I'm sorry. If I had known it was untested I would've stopped him."  
  
He huffed. He was mad, but he knew Cas wasn't the one to blame. Hell, the poor guy had barely been able to speak earlier.  
  
"I know. I just don't like Gabe using us as freakin' Guinea Pigs!"  
  
Cas tilted his head. "But you and Sam aren't Guinea Pigs."  
  
Dean sighed. "It's a metaphor, Cas."  
  
"Ah."  
  
Dean was still upset. Gabe, the guy currently possessing his brother - and man, that would never stop being a weird statement - had lied to them about the sigil he'd carved into their skulls. If he died from some stupid side effect, he'd never forgive himself for trusting the bastard.  
  
"I'll do what I can to make sure there aren't any ill effects. And I'll make sure Gabriel does the same."  
  
Oh, right. Dean had almost forgotten that Cas could feel his emotions. He knew Cas was being sincere, and he also knew that he felt guilty for all of Gabe's crap. He tried his best to give off something like relief, and already he could feel the angel start to lighten up.  
  
"Thank you, Dean."  
  
"No problem. I mean, none of this is your fault. You just ended up in a crap situation."  
  
Cas smiled at that.  
  
"Don't we always?"  
  
And Dean smiled back at that.  
  
***  
  
"Are you done?"  
  
Gabe wasn't entirely sure what Sam was thinking. He'd backed away from his soul, but that just made it harder for him to get a read on his feelings. Still, what was gonna happen was gonna happen. "Yeah, I'm done."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Gabe waited for him to start shouting or nagging. But he didn't.  
  
"Okay? That's it?"  
  
Sam shrugged. "Well, what am I supposed to do? Get mad?"  
  
Gabe shrugged back and Sam just sighed. "Look, it's done. I mean, I'm not dead, and I can talk to Dean. As far as I'm concerned, things could be way worse."  
  
Sam stood up from the bed and was surprised to see that Gabriel looked... relieved. Had he been afraid of him? Quickly, the angel gave a halfhearted chuckle.  
  
"I've been hanging around your brother too much."  
  
Sam couldn't help but laugh at that.  
  
"Yeah, he'll probably be pissed."  
  
Suddenly, they heard an alarm from down the hall, though it sounded further away than it should.  
  
"The hell's that?"  
  
Sam took a moment to think about it, and remembered one of Charlie's last visits.  
  
"A friend of ours rigged the map to track angels."  
  
Gabe turned back to the door.  
  
"Well it looks like we're done here. Just remember, if you need to talk, my door's always open."  
  
He disappeared and the door opened on its own.  
  
"Sam!"  
  
He ran to the hall and nearly slammed into Dean.  
  
"What the hell happened?"  
  
"I dunno! Cas just left."  
  
They both turned back towards the bunker's main area and just ran.


End file.
